Chairside Screening for Undiagnosed Diabetes and Prediabetes in Patients with Periodontitis

Globally, it is estimated that half of all people with diabetes are undiagnosed. Because of the well-documented bidirectional link between diabetes and periodontitis, dentists and dental hygienists may have the possibility to screen a targeted population for diabetes during routine dental visits. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effectiveness of one device for diagnosis of diabetes/prediabetes used in one private dental practice and investigate the correlation between the levels of HbA1c and periodontal parameters.

Periodontal patients that were never diagnosed with diabetes were asked to fill a risk assessment questionnaire for type 2 diabetes mellitus. PD, CAL, FMBS%, FMPS%, and HbA1c through a prick-finger test were measured before and after periodontal therapy or only once in patients following supportive periodontal therapy.

A total of 98 subjects were screened, and among them, one had diabetes and 30 had prediabetes. The mean value of HbA1c was 5.62% for patients with untreated periodontitis and 5.42% for periodontally treated patients. The diagnosis of diabetes resulted to be correlated to FMBS% and FMPS%, while HbA1c levels were correlated to FMBS%, FMPS%, and periodontitis grade.

The present chairside diabetes-screening protocol allowed a consistent proportion of patients to become aware of their pathological or prepathological condition and to seek proper and timely medical care. Thus, dentists and dental hygienists could provide health promotion services and preventive measures.